ORION TWP. >> Hoping to spare local roads from further damage, the township is considering hiring one waste hauler for the entire community.

Township Supervisor Chris Barnett formed a committee with Mike Flood, a member of the environmental resources committee, and the township attorney to draft a resolution soliciting bids for one company to offer garbage collection and recycling services. The township would publicly review the bids, and residents could either be billed directly by the company or pay through their tax bills.

The township has seven licensed haulers, Barnett said, that send garbage trucks through the neighborhoods and a second vehicle for recycling.

“For me, the biggest thing is the wear and tear on the roads,” said Barnett, who proposed the idea at the township Board of Trustees meeting this month.

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Some communities have as many as six different trucks in their neighborhoods, which also pose a safety problem for children, he added.

“Really, Orion Twp?” she wrote, responding to a Facebook question on The Oakland Press page. “Now ‘the powers that be’ want to tell me who can pick up my garbage? Seems to me the elected officials have better things they can do with their time! Hey, here’s an idea Orion Twp....take charge and get Waldon Road fixed so it can actually be driven on! How ridiculous!”

However, Bill Kalmar, who lives in the Keatington Woods subdivision, supports the plan.

“I am sure that there are some who object to the township choosing one hauler, but, frankly, it is about time we take a stand on this,” Kalmar wrote in an e-mail. “Currently, there are a number of companies that are traveling down our street every day to pick up trash. And it seems that every day there are trash receptacles in the street awaiting the arrival of just another hauler. And what makes this so disconcerting is that some people put their trash receptacles out the day or night before which gives the impression of blight.”

Barnett also noted that having one waste hauler would be better for aesthetics. Many other communities in Oakland County have contracted with one waste management company, he added.

“It’s not like we’re blazing a trail here,” Barnett said. “We have other examples to look to.”

Waterford Township has been looking at similar ideas and Supervisor Gary Walls pointed to crumbling roads as the problem as well.

That township has seven waste haulers who bring as many as 15 trucks into a neighborhood in one week. The community had a town hall meeting in May to discuss whether there should be a ballot initiative to create an ordinance to change waste hauling regulations.

In recent years, Rochester Hills went to a single-hauler system.

“There were a lot of complaints when Rochester Hills did this but I think it’s fantastic,” Neil Baxter said on Facecook. “Before moving here, I lived in Orion so experienced the hodge podge approach. I especially like the convenience of the recycling. Just throw everything in one bin - no separating. My recycle bin is always more full than my garbage bin now.”

Others hope their community follows this move.

Rebecca Willis said on Facebook: “I wish Oxford would consider something like this. Four days out of the week, I have garbage trucks in my neighborhood, on one day alone we have four different companies in the neighborhood. Our streets have become one big pothole from all these large trucks.”

Others fear the loss of choice would hurt customer service and eventually increase prices.

“I don’t want it,” said Lisa R Imerman in Waterford on Facebook. “It may lessen some traffic, but I like my waste hauler and I don’t want to be forced to use whatever company they pick. Competition helps keep the free market working.”